Impossible Pictures of Pictures

Hey photo friends, Erik here with my quick 2 cents on a new product that has sparked some debate here in the CJ Studio. The Impossible Project has a Kickstarter campaign for their new “Impossible Instant Lab”, which will “transform your digital iPhone images into real instant photographs that you can touch, caress and share with friends.” Take a look at the Kickstarter video for all the details:

I should love this thing. I mean, it combines Polaroids with iPhone Photography withKickstarter! What’s more hip and awesome than that? The charm wears off for me quickly though when I realize that all of this is just taking pictures of pictures. Is there any artistic merit here? I respect the tangible nature of instant analog photography, but more than that I respect the difficulty, unpredictability, and commitment it takes to do it well. In my opinion, all of that is lost when you’re using an instant camera more or less as a printer that connects to your iPhone. We LOVE our iphone dearly, but this gadget isn’t about that. Does an analogue printer of digital undermine instant analogue photography?

What do you think? Like I said, I should love this thing, but I don’t know